Kripalu Yoga is The Yoga of Compassionate Self-Awareness. Classes can be moderately paced, vigourously challenging, slow and meditative or gentle. In any Kripalu class, you’ll notice heart. You'll hear language about inviting your body into a stretch without pushing or forcing it. You’ll be invited to find your “edge” – the place where your body is getting a good stretch but not straining or struggling. You'll be invited to hold and breathe "at the relaxed side of your edge" and watch what comes along....sensations, thoughts, emotions. As we release physical tensions, we also release mental and emotional tensions. In a Kripalu class, space is made for the whole person.
Kripalu Yoga emphasizes breath techniques (pranayama), awareness of energy in the body, and the body-mind connection.
Kripalu Yoga emphasizes witness consciousness – learning to watch whatever arrives: physical sensations, energy levels, thought patterns, emotional responses – and creating that little space or that awareness that can allow us to choose our response rather than clicking into knee-jerk reactions.
Kripalu Yoga emphasizes yoga on and off the mat. Life can throw us some pretty challenging postures! Yoga strengthens our resilience and our capacity to hold the posture, breathe, relax, feel, watch and allow -- whether that posture is an asana, a hard conversation, a tough task, a wave of emotion or any other life experience.
Kripalu Yoga describes three stages of practice:
Stage 1 - Body and Breath Awareness - Students new to yoga begin with Stage 1, and the most experienced practitioners never stop returning to Stage 1. At this level, students learn the concrete details of how to align the body in yogic postures (asanas) and how to coordinate these postures with conscious and deliberate breathing techniques (pranayama). Body awareness can increase dramatically as students learn to locate, feel and name the workings of the inner body and the subtleties of bodily sensations and breath.
Stage 2 - Inner Focus and Concentration - As a student becomes more comfortable with the nuts and bolts of yoga movements, there is a natural progression toward Stage 2: holding asanas for longer periods of time and cultivating the art of mindfulness in that holding. Awareness and compassion continue to develop as students learn to "ride the waves" and watch sensations, breath, thoughts, emotions and energy.
Stage 3 - Absorption - Advanced students are encouraged to use their intuition and inner wisdom to enter a spontaneous flow of movements and/or asanas known as "meditation-in-motion".
Kripalu Yoga classes include these elements:
Centering All Kripalu Yoga classes begin with a centering. In a comfortable seated position with eyes closed, students are guided in practicing breath techniques (pranayama) to draw the focus inward, slow the breath and ease restless thoughts. Pranayama allows students to become more sensitive to how they feel, which in turn enables them to practise with greater awareness and respect for their bodies.
Warm-Ups and Postures The centering is followed by warm-ups and then a series of postures (asanas) sequenced to stretch and strengthen the entire body. This makes up the main body of each class.
Guided Relaxation and Meditation The last 15 minutes of each class is devoted to guided relaxation (svasana pose) and meditation, which help students develop a sense of inner peace that can be carried throughout the day.
"I like the meditation/centering. Other yoga classes I have attended seemed like exercise classes. This combines the mental with the physical - very effective." E.S., student